Strong message from Simon

Simon Bassey was disappointed with Wimbledon’s overall performance in defeat at Newport and he said that more is expected from the club’s young players if they want to be a part of first-team plans.

Speaking during a post-match interview with WDON's Rob Cornell for Dons Player, our first-team coach struggled to find positives in his verdict after the 2-0 defeat at Rodney Parade.

“We were second best all night and we deserved to be beaten,” said Simon. “It was a harsh free-kick to give away for the first goal, but we have lost our marking and we did not do well enough for that. With the second one, we have let him cut inside and finish with his weak foot. We did not press the ball well enough, which was indicative of us all night. We are really disappointed with the performance overall.

“They (young players) must do better if they want to get into the first-team. Apart from the first-half on Saturday, we run hard, we compete, and make games difficult. We press and we are aggressive, but we did not have any of those characteristics tonight. If they want to get into the first-team on a regular basis they are certainly going to have to turn in better performances than that.

“Newport are League 2, bottom of the table, and seven of their boys played had played on Sunday. They were out here playing tonight. You know what Graham Westley’s teams give you; they are going to be competitive, hard-working, and we did not match them tonight. That’s unacceptable from our point of view.”

Simon did praise Seth Owens for his performance on his debut and George Oakley’s first-team return after a broken leg was another plus point, along with progress in the Checkatrade Trophy.

“The young lad Seth came in for his debut and he was committed,” added Simon. “He had a good go, played well, and that’s a really good bonus for him. George has done well for the Under-21s since he came back from injury. It was good for George to bridge the gap. Hopefully, we can get him some game-time, whether it’s here or on loan.

“We wanted to progress (in Checkatrade Trophy) and we’ve finished top of the group, even though we got beat, which is pleasing. That means a home tie in the next round. It’s a competition we want to take seriously because financially it’s quite good for us and it ends with a trip to Wembley.”

.Dons PlayerThe full interview with Simon and extended highlights from last night’s game at Newport are on